News headlines in August 2018, page 6

LONDON, Aug 09 (IPS) - Duncan Macqueen is a principal researcher on forests at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).*

Mozambique's forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, with most of the destruction caused by excessive logging, corruption and weak laws.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 09 (IPS) - IPS correspondent Tharanga Yakupitiyage spoke to Ambassador Amina Mohamed, Kenyan minister for education, science, technology and innovation, about her life-long work, particularly her work with women's empowerment and girls' education in Kenya and around the world.This year, the African Union and the Diaspora African forum are honouring the first woman minister for education in Kenya for her long and outstanding work in girls' education and governance.

UNITED NATIONS, Aug 09 (IPS) - This article is part of a series of stories and op-eds initiated by IPS on the occasion of the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, on August 9.

Indigenous peoples, who comprise less than five percent of the world's population, have the world's smallest carbon footprint, and are the least responsible for our climate crisis. Yet because their livelihoods and wellbeing are intimately bound with intact ecosystems, indigenous peoples disproportionately face the brunt of climate changewhich is fast becoming a leading driver of human displacement.

SOUSA, Brazil, Aug 09 (IPS) - Sousa, a municipality of 70,000 people in the west of Paraíba, the state in Brazil most threatened by desertification, has become the country's capital of solar energy, with a Catholic church, various businesses, households and even a cemetery generating solar power.

GENEVA/NEW YORK, Aug 08 (IPS) - States around the world must take effective action to guarantee the human rights of indigenous peoples, says a group of UN experts. In a joint statement marking International day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, the experts say it is crucial that the rights of indigenous peoples are realised when they migrate or are displaced from their lands:

ROME, Aug 08 (IPS) - Laetitia Bader is a senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch"Military service was the only prospect on my horizon -- I didn't want that," a 20-year-old Eritrean who fled the country last year told me. "My dad had spent his whole life in military service."

BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, Aug 08 (IPS) - Vera Marinova is Associate Director of Indiana University's Global Living-Learning Community and director of Books & Beyond.

For ten years now, in special partnership with the community of Musanze, Rwanda, Indiana University (IU) has created meaningful programs and connections across the country. It is an unlikely partnership, one that formed over 10 years ago with a university alum recognizing an opportunity for not only cultural literacy but friendship.

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 08 (IPS) - The author of this oped, Nelly Minyersky, is a lawyer and family law specialist, writing for Amnesty International.

We are at an historic moment in Argentina, a turning point in the path of women's rights.

ST GEORGE’S, Aug 08 (IPS) - Grenada is still tallying the damage after heavy rainfall last week resulted in "wide and extensive" flooding that once again highlights the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to climate change.

AMSTERDAM, Aug 07 (IPS) - Eco Matser is Hivos global Climate Change / Energy and Development CoordinatorAs the energy sector is transforming, there is a growing consensus that sustainable energy is a catalyst for achieving most Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): it is crucial for better health, education, jobs, food production and conservation, as well as water use and quality.